This report presents an analysis of music tracks played across 13 Polish
radio stations between January 1, 2024 and June 16, 2025. The analysis
covers track and artist popularity, library uniqueness, the speed at
which premieres appear, and the frequency of airplay during specific
times of the day.
Data sources include the odsluchane.eu portal and the
musicbrainzngs library, which provides access to the MusicBrainz
database from which track release dates were obtained.
Records analyzed: 1 835 671
Unique artists: 52 877
Unique tracks: 86 816
Key questions:
Who are the most played artists and songs?
Which tracks are unique to specific stations?
How quickly do new releases appear across different radios?
What are the patterns of music airplay at different times of day?
Which radio stations are most likely to premiere songs that later become major hits?
How do new tracks travel from their premiere to wider popularity across the radio landscape?
13
analyzed radio stations
533
days of airplay (Jan 2024 - Jun 2025)
86 816
unique songs
52 877
artists
Please start a simple HTTP server using python -m http.server
and then open the report file in your web browser via the provided local address (usually http://localhost:8000/Analysis_of_Polish_Radio_Stations_Report.html).
Opening the report via an HTTP server is necessary for proper display of some interactive charts (especially in TOP 5 sections).
TOP 20 Artists - all stations
The chart below shows the most popular artists played by radio stations in the analysed period. The number of plays is the sum of plays across all radio stations.
Dua Lipa is currently the most popular artist. However, right behind her, 5 of the most played artists are Polish singers.
TOP 20 Tracks - all stations
Ranking of the twenty most played tracks across all radio stations.
Some songs received significantly more airplay than others. The most frequently played tracks were dominated by international hits.
Average Music Premiere Playback Delay
The chart presents the average delay (in hours) from a song's official release to its first airplay on each station.
Radio Dwójka consistently plays new releases the latest, while VOX FM and Eska are the quickest to introduce new tracks.
Comparison of Music Libraries - all stations
The chart shows the size of the music libraries of the various radio stations.
The greatest variety of songs could be heard at Dwójka and Trójka.
The smallest variety, and therefore probably the most frequently repeated songs, can be heard on such radio stations as Złote Przeboje, RMF FM, ZET, RMF MAXX and Eska.
Unique Tracks - all stations
The chart shows the number of unique tracks, so tracks played exclusively on one station and not played on other radio stations during the whole analysed period.
Radio Dwójka has the largest library of unique tracks, which cannot be heard on other stations.
TOP 5 Most Played Tracks - select station
The charts show the most played songs for each radio station
Songs in bold are songs that are not in the TOP 5 of the most played songs on the other radio stations.
TOP 5 Most Played Artists - select station
The most popular artists for each radio station
Artists in bold are artists who are not in the TOP 5 of the other radio stations.
TOP 5 Most Played Unique Tracks - select station
This bar chart presents the number of unique tracks in each radio station's library - where "unique" means that a track was played exclusively on a single station and never broadcast by any other station during the entire analyzed period.
The results highlight significant differences in programming strategy across stations. Dwójka stands out with the largest collection of exclusive tracks, reflecting a highly distinctive and diverse music selection. Other public broadcasters, such as Trójka, Czwórka, and Jedynka, also maintain extensive libraries of unique content.
By contrast, commercial stations like Eska, RMF MAXXX, and RMF FM have far fewer unique tracks, suggesting a greater focus on widely popular music and overlapping playlists. This analysis demonstrates how some stations cultivate a unique musical identity, while others concentrate on hits with broad audience appeal.
TOP 5 Tracks Each Month - select station
The charts show the most played songs for each station
Songs in bold are songs that are not in the TOP 5 of the most played songs on the other radio stations.
This bubble chart visualizes the monthly airplay trends for the five most played songs on a selected radio station.
Each row represents a track, while each column corresponds to a calendar month. The size of each bubble indicates the number of times a given song was played in that month the larger the bubble, the more frequent the airplay.
Songs shown in bold are exclusive hits for the station—they do not appear in the Top 5 lists of any other radio station, highlighting tracks that define the station's unique musical identity.
This visualization makes it easy to identify not only the overall most popular songs on each station, but also how airplay of specific tracks rises and falls over time, revealing both enduring hits and short-lived sensations.
Heatmap of Average Plays - all stations
This heatmap presents the average number of songs played on each radio station across all hours of the day.
Each row represents a radio station, while each column corresponds to an hour (from 0 to 23). The color intensity indicates the average number of plays-darker shades represent higher values.
The analysis reveals distinct programming strategies among stations. Dwójka consistently shows the lowest number of song plays throughout the day, likely reflecting a greater focus on non-music content, such as talk or cultural programs. Eska and RMF MAXXX stand out with the highest average numbers of songs played, particularly during night hours, indicating a strong focus on continuous music programming.
Other stations such as Chillizet, Trójka, and VOX FM exhibit more balanced distributions, without pronounced peaks or troughs.
This visualization makes it easy to compare music scheduling intensity across stations and times of day, and to identify trends such as peak music hours and stations with unique programming profiles.
Which radio station is the first to play songs that later become popular?
Radio Trójka clearly leads the way in airing tracks that go on to become major hits, regularly being the first to play songs that later prove most popular. If you want to hear the next big hit before anyone else, this is the station to listen to.
2025 Music Premieres Analysis: Fastest Premieres
Looking more closely at the 2025 premieres, we can see how much time passed for each track between its official release date and its first appearance on each radio station.
When expanding the premiere analysis to the top 50 tracks, Trójka still leads with the most first plays.
For tracks that appeared on multiple stations (highlighted background on the chart), we can compare the delay or speed with which each station introduced the song to their playlists.
For example, the track "Ed Sheeran - Azizam" was added to Radio Eska's playlist more quickly than to any other station after its premiere.
Listeners of other stations had to wait about twice as long to hear this track for the first time.
2025 Music Premieres Analysis: Premiere Structure - sunburst
visualization
This sunburst chart visualizes the hierarchy of music premieres in 2025 by radio station, artist, and track title.
The visualization shows, from the center outwards: the station where the track was first played, the artist's name, the track title, and the other stations that played the same track.
Only songs that became popular this year were included in the analysis.
It is evident that some stations, such as Trójka, Jedynka, and Eska, are often the first to play premieres that then become very popular on other stations.
There are also stations that operate more in their own niche-for example, tracks first played on Chillizet often do not become hits elsewhere.
The sunburst makes it easy to understand which stations are the most active in introducing new music, which artists and songs gained the widest airplay, and how tracks spread across different radio stations after their premiere.
2025 Music Premieres Analysis: Premiere Structure - simplified
A simplified chart, without showing the other radio stations that also played the 2025 track.
The visualization presents the radio station where each track premiered, followed by the artist name and the track title. The size of each circle represents the total number of plays for that song.
